gombeen
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of gombeen
1860–65; < Irish gaimbín interest, especially exorbitant interest, literally, bit, small piece, diminutive of gamba lump, hunk
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I slackened and saw them drop into the road and there remain, mystified, no doubt, by the astonishing variety of scents, from goat to gombeen man, that presented themselves.
From In Mr. Knox's Country by Ross, Martin
The reign of the gombeen man is over.
From The National Being Some Thoughts on an Irish Polity by Russell, George William
"There's a hole in your pocket, Capt'n; stop it up with your fist, man," said Liza—she was a gombeen woman, and when she got a penny in her hand it was a prisoner for life.
From The Manxman A Novel - 1895 by Caine, Hall, Sir
One day he and his father shopped at the gombeen store together.
From What's the Matter with Ireland? by Russell, Ruth
This poor innocent was charging just 60 per cent., but his terms were lavishly liberal as compared with those of the gombeen man.
From Disturbed Ireland Being the Letters Written During the Winter of 1880-81. by Becker, Bernard H.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
